Work on doing it properly first, then increase speed, change tempo, change size. But first and foremost, learn to do it properly and drill it into your muscles.

When you can do it instinctively, properly and control your distance and tempo precisely, you have a foundation that will serve you well in all weapons.

That said, I hate doing footwork, but it does pay off.

Paolo

"He is a man of splendid abilities but utterly corrupt. He shines and stinks like rotten mackerel by moonlight." "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats."

Mirrors are the best (but LEAST flattering) for observing your technique. If you watch yourself on footwork exercises, you see what your opponent sees: lowered or raised hand, footwork telegraphs, etc. You can also check for position and depth on your parries as you work the forms. Especially note your positioning while making rapid advances or retreats and look for exploitable weaknesses. It's also a good way to spot "bobbing" or too-straight legs while moving back and forth.

At our club, we also have a number of dummies--round barrels covered with carpet, with a mask mounted on the top at approximately normal head level. These allow you to practice advance-lunge attack variations, parry-riposte combos with footwork and other multiple actions. Take the time with either the mirror or the dummy to practice the motions slowly, and make sure the technique is right before you practice for speed.

Of course, remember that if you practice too much by yourself, it grows hair on your pommel!

"Sometimes we, as coaches, get into that dictator mode where you just tell and you don't listen and you don't try to understand them." Tom Izzo, Mich. St.
"Fraud is the creation of trust. And then: its betrayal."
William Black, Ph.D.

Target Speed

I bought a Target Speed fencing practice target and it makes the self directed drills a little more fun. Instant gratification from the lights and buzzers going off I guess. And you can do all the stuff everyone else has suggested with it as well as point control. Repost drills, second intention drills, doubles etc. Wouldn't recommend it for fleche drills unless you have it mounted on a tripod or suspended somehow.

I got a "reconditioned demo" and saved about a $100 USD.

Works great!

“General Feraud has made occasional attempts to kill me. That does not give him the right to claim my acquaintance.”

Re: Target Speed

Originally posted by Kodiak Kid I bought a Target Speed fencing practice target and it makes the self directed drills a little more fun. Instant gratification from the lights and buzzers going off I guess. And you can do all the stuff everyone else has suggested with it as well as point control. Repost drills, second intention drills, doubles etc. Wouldn't recommend it for fleche drills unless you have it mounted on a tripod or suspended somehow.

I got a "reconditioned demo" and saved about a $100 USD.

Works great!

Could you tell me who the manufacturer or supplier of this piece of equipment is? I'd like my club to get one as well. Thanks.

Of course, the question was "How do you practice [fencing] solo?" so the weightlifting part was non-responsive anyway

As for the "Target Speed" device, it seems fencepbt.com carries it, but they have zip in the way of a description of it, not even a picture. Further searching revealed a club website that has a photo of one:

The photo makes it look like some sort of reaction time experiment that escaped from a college psych lab. Perhaps it could be combined with a mechanism to reward the monkey (or in this case fencers), with a squirt of apple juice or something when they do particularly well. Heck, even without the apple juice, the lights and buzzer probably make it much more entertaining than a wall.

However I do wonder how Target Speed users would react if wireless fencing with mask scoring lights takes off:

Please note that the question was practicing solo. In any occasion that you have an opponent, fencing would be better than lifting weights. Regarding target speed, it is made by Steffy Design target speed

Several ways I've managed to get valuable practice in solo (my emphasis being on training for Epee) :

1) Golf ball hanging from the ceiling fan at home. Practice lunging to develop point control. Hard, but a real test of point control is to try to hit it more on one side or another (as opposed to direct on) so that you actually put a spin on the ball. (I used a screw-in eyelet to attach string to the ball)

2) Footwork footwork and more footwork at the local YMCA in a studio w/ mirrors. Great way to keep a good check on your form, check your lunge, etc. Every now and then I put one of my sneakers on the floor at distance and practice foot shots.

3) Not sure what they're called, but in the Studio at the Y there are padded bars of varying weights & thicknesses. I put one on top of the stacks of those steps used for step aerobics and practice flicking it. It definitely helped me develop my flick to the wrist/forearm. It's also a good target for lunging while angulating in from various sides for those touches to the forearm.

There is a set of footwork drills on the drills page here. I've told my students to go do them over the month long training break that we had for the boys' year end examinations. Those of them who have done them everyday have shown significant improvements in terms of speed and strength over those who were lax. However their form still needs improvement. Will try and see if I can find a location with full length mirrors.

Originally posted by haggis No Jason, I don't think you did. Please tell us cos I'm sure it would give us a definitive comment on the subject and that would mean there was no more pointless and ill-informed discussion about it.

P.S. Re. location - Where you are is cold, wet and miserable but it's not Poland anymore.

Regards

Haggis

Well if it means an end to pointless and ill-informed discussion then there is no way I'm saying anything.
Pointless, ill-informed discussion is what makes the internet great (well, that and porn...).

It's not Poland anymore?
Was there another invasion?
I bet it was them Germans again.
They're always making trouble...